First published in 1934, The Postman Always Rings Twice caused a scandal with its explosive mix of violence and sex, and immediately became a bestseller. The torrid story of Frank Chambers, the amoral drifter, Cora, the sullen and brooding wife, and Nick Papadakis, the amiable but inconvenient husband, has become a classic of its kind, and established Cain as a major novelist with a spare and vital prose style and a bleak vision of America.
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First published in 1934, The Postman Always Rings Twice caused a scandal with its explosive mix of violence and sex, and immediately became a bestseller. The torrid story of Frank Chambers, the amoral drifter, Cora, the sullen and brooding wife, and Nick Papadakis, the amiable but inconvenient husband, has become a classic of its kind, and established Cain as a major novelist with a spare and vital prose style and a bleak vision of America.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First edition. Boards are slightly soiled and near fine, with a supplied proof dustwrapper which came directly from the estate of the artist Arthur Hawkins, Jr. The jacket has been folded with a crease at the spine, Knopf's small Borzoi logo has been cut away from the rear panel (possibly for another design by Hawkins), and Hawkins has written the date "1933" on the front flap, although the book wasn't released until 1934. However the jacket is exceptionally bright and otherwise fine, and about 1/4" taller than the finished version, to which we have compared it (although otherwise identical to it). The jacket was unsigned by Hawkins, unlike most of his work, but is credited to him in Heller and Chwast's seminal study of jacket design, *Jackets Required*-the survival of this proof in his estate seems to confirm their research. A milestone of hardboiled literature that was the basis for the classic 1946 film featuring Lana Turner and John Garfield (as well as at least three other versions). *Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. * This proof jacket is likely unique.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Dust Jacket Included. First edition, first printing. Original publisher's orange cloth, titles and decorations printed in blue to front board and spine, blue top stain; original black, red and white dust jacket with wavy design. Near fine book with a touch of soiling to top edge of text block, light wear to bottom edges of boards, and previous owner's bookplate to front pastedown; very good unclipped dust jacket with a bit of wear to jacket flap hinges and spine ends, closed tear to bottom two inches of spine, small closed tear to bottom of rear panel, a bit of soiling and smudging to rear panel, and minor toning to spine. Overall, a sturdy copy in a bright example of its iconic dust jacket. In The Postman Always Rings Twice, a drifter named Frank Chambers takes a job at a rural diner, and he and the owner's wife, Cora, quickly begin a passionate affair. Longing to be free from Cora's husband, the two brutally murder him, but their bond begins to fray when they enter the legal system and are pitted against one another. The first novel written by James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice was an instant classic of the “hard-boiled” genre. The title's meaning has been the source of some speculation, but Cain has said that the “postman” represents fate, and the two rings refer to Frank and Cora's initial escape from, and ultimate suffering of consequences for their crime. The book was influenced by Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin, and in turn influenced Albert Camus in his writing of The Stranger. It was adapted into numerous films, most notably the 1946 film noir classic starring John Garfield and Lana Turner.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. First Edition, First Printing. Very Good, lacking dust jacket. Offsetting to end papers. First 8 page leafs have a tiny tear at the side edge. Foxing to side of page block and cloth. Sunning to spine. First edition, as stated.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. 1934 3rd printing February 1934 in original $2 priced jacket with lightly stained spine and edge wear. No marks, original publisher's top stain. Please email for photos.
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Seller's Description:
Book. Octavo, 192 pages. In Very Good minus condition, and lacking issued dust jacket. Bound in yellow cloth with black lettering. Minor shelf wear. Soiling to spine and boards. Some age-toning to edges of textblock. Interior pages clean. Shelved in Case 6. 1372889. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.
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Seller's Description:
Good in Good jacket. Book The 6th printing in the same year of the first edition-1934. Colorful DJ is not price-clipped, tanned & rubbed from age & handling, now protected in mylar. Boards are well-bound, upper end of spine sunned, foxing along textbox edges, pages clean & bright.
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Seller's Description:
GIFT QUALITY. JACKET: TORN DJ. 5 X 7. The dj matches the original design published by Alfred A. Knopf. The dj is torn down spine, rubbed cover, lightly tanned, creased at spine. The book has light shelf wear, tanned fore edges and pages. Good binding, clean body and unmarked text. This copy was published the same year as the 1934 Knopf first edition. Our Jacket has same design as dj of the knopf first edition book. _PAB_
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine dust jacket and slipcase. 19 x 13 cm. 188pp. Red cloth in dust jacket and slipcase. FEL slip describing the work laid-in. The publisher "The First Edition Library" produced high quality facsimiles of first editions of many classic works. This is one of the mystery novels published in conjunction with Otto Penzler, a publisher and the proprietor of the Mystery Book Shop in New York. These works differ from a true first only in that they come in a slipcase and that they have a small statement of edition on the copyright page. Any typos and defects are perserved from the original.
